Tighten law

News-Times, The (Danbury, CT)

Published
1:00 am EDT, Thursday, May 25, 2006

The legislative hearings on the controversy surrounding Governor Rell's chief of staff have ended, with some light shed.

Lisa Moody
, a long-time aide to Rell, ordered commissioners and deputy commissioners to distribute invitations to a Rell fundraiser. She did this in her office that is located near the governor's office.

Most of the commissioners and deputy commissioners complied with her directions and were fined by the state
Elections Enforcement Commission
. Top state officials are legally prohibited from soliciting campaign contributions.

The actions of Moody and the top officials of the Rell administration were bad enough. But

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Jeffrey Garfield
, the commission's respected executive director, also acted inappropriately in his handling of the case.

Garfield had contacts with
Kevin Deneen
, Rell's campaign manager, and Moody while the cases against the commissioners and deputy commissioners were pending.

Deneen and Moody wanted the controversy settled for political reasons. But they weren't parties to the top officials' cases and shouldn't have been involved in any discussions with Garfield.

To his credit, Garfield took responsibility for his actions, saying he failed to "fully appreciate" how these contacts would appear to others. Moody has yet to fully acknowledge the seriousness of her actions.

State employees should not be involved in political activities on state time. And Moody should not be conducting campaign activities in her state office.